Teeth and Claws. Provincial Warriors and the Heian Court

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by  Friday Karl.

Teeth and Claws. Provincial Warriors and the Heian Court
Author(s): Karl Friday
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Summer, 1988), pp. 153-185
Published by: Sophia University
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2384742 .
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Teetha nd Claws
ProvincialW arriorsa nd the Heian Court
by KARL FRIDAY
T
HE Japanesec ourto f thee leventhan d twelfthce nturiersu leda state
thats eeminglyh ad no army.T he elaboratep rovincialm ilitaryo rganiza-
tion establishedb y the ritsuryoM g rlJeg al systema t the beginningo f the
eighthc enturyh ad been discarded;p easant conscriptsr eturnedt o theirf ields.
This excision in part facilitateda nd was in part facilitatedb y the birtha nd
rapid growtho f a new class of professionalf ightingm en in the countryside.
From the ninthc enturyo nward,t he court,w ithouta soldieryo f its own, in-
creasinglyd ependedo n them emberso f thisc lass to act as its 'teetha nd claws'
in the provinces.P rovincial warriorsw ere commissionedw ith new military
titlest hat legitimizedt heiru se of privatem artialr esourceso n behalf of the
state.
None of the titlest hat characterizedt he Heian police and militarys ystems
were describedi n the ritsuryoc odes; all were created later in response to
specificn eeds and conditions.M any Western-languagter eatmentosf warriors
duringt he Heian periodd escribet itless uch as oryoshij Tffl, tsuibushi FII{S,
or kebiishi tKi as contributingf actorsi n the decline of central court
authorityin thep rovinces:g ivent o provincialo fficialast firsto n an emergency
and temporaryb asis, the titlest ended to become permanenta s 'emergency'
situationsb egant o extendo verl ong periodso f time.T he effecotf thisd evelop-
ment, to continue this line of reasoning,w as to make the use of military
force-and thep ossessiono f military/polictei tles-increasinglyin tegratl o the
exerciseo f provinciala dministrationE. ventually,m ilitaryt itlesc ame to over-
shadow civil appointmentsM. artial power thus became the sine qua non of
authorityin the countrysidet; he ascendancyo f the imperialg overnmenwt as
fatallyu ndermined.T his line of argument,t hen, sees the distributiono f
6ryoshi,t suibushia nd relatedt itlesa s constitutingan unwillings urrenderb y
THE AUTHORi s a doctoral candidate in the DissertationF ellowship provided jointly by
Departmento f History,S tanfordU niversity. the Japan Foundation and the Social Science
Much of ther esearcho n whicht hep resenta rti- ResearchC ouncil. The supporto f thesei nstitu-
cle is based was conductedu nder a Doctoral tions is gratefullyac knowledged.
154 MonumentaN ipponica, 43:2
AbbreviationsU sed in the Footnotes
BF BetsujuF usenshoi 1,I<JtX ' . In ShinteiZ oho KokushiT aikei tj~-nhI i R+Xt.-
CG Choya Gunsai *fURa. In ShinteiZ oho Kokushi Taikei.
cs Choshuki ARWk
cy Chuyuki Fv-t2
FR Fuso Ryakki A41M,
HI Heian Ibun +T$-i
HM Honcho Monzui t*WZ. In ShinteiZ oho Kokushi Taikei.
HS Honcho Seiki t#1?d
HZ Hokuzansho iL[It'JI. n Zoho Kojitsu Sosho -
JH JihankiO Wh?. In Kunaicho ShoryobuK iyo P
KI Kamakura Ibun Mk a`I
NG Nihon Koki H4Ig
NK Nihon Kiryaku H 4ZMO
NM Nihon Montoku Tenno JitsurokuH i
RF Ruiju Fusensho l4WTj. In ShinteiZ oho Kokushi Taikei.
RG Ryo no Gige .. In ShinteiZ oho Kokushi Taikei.
RS Ruiju Sandai Kyaku - In ShinteiZ oho Kokushi Taikei.
SB Sompi Bummyakut t53rf. In ShinteiZ oho Kokushi Taikei.
SG Saiguki i In Zoho Kojitsu Sosho.
sJ Sandai Jitsuroku-
SK Sakeiki itU-E
SM Shomonki WT,2. In ShinsenN ihon Koten Bunko #JIPHA * t tF*, 21,
Gendai Shichosha, 1975.
SN Shoku Nihongi KL HtH3
SNG Shoku Nihon Koki 4. HL E
sY Shoiyuki+ JtjD-E
TK TeishinK oki , f: Xd
thec ourto f its controlo ver an importantg overnmentaflu nction-thee xercise
of militarya nd police powers.1
In fact,t he reverses eems closert o the truth.T he new military/policpeo sts
werec reated,a dapted, and modifieds o as to keep pace witht hee mergingw ar-
1 See, fore xample,J ohnW . Hall, Govern- Shinoda, The Founding of the Kamakura
ment and Local Power in Japan, 500-1700, Shogunate,1 180-1185,C olumbia U.P., 1960,
Princeton U.P., 1966, pp. 131-34; Minoru pp. 33-34.
FRIDAY: Teeth and Claws 155
riorc lass. Their evolutionr evealsa consistent,lo ng-termef forbt y the central
nobilityt o keep abreast of developmentsin the countrysidean d to utilizet he
verys ource of troublet here,t he provincialw arriors,a s its solution. By and
larget he efforwt as successful.W arriors,n o matterh ow powerful,w eren ever
able to completelyd isengaget hemselvesf romc ontrolb y the center.U ntilt he
establishmenot f the Kamakura bakufu, titless uch as oryo5shain d tsuibushi
enabledt hei mperialc ourtt o remaint he sole sourceo f legitimationf ort heu se
of force,a s well as fort he possession of land.2
The presenta rticle,t hen,i s a studyo f the Heian provincialm ilitary/police
systemA. ftera briefe xaminationo f thet rendsa nd eventst hatl ed to theb irth
of the new structureI, will discuss firstt he origina nd developmento f the
court's new martialp osts, and thent he operationo f the systema s a whole.
The InstitutionalV acuum
In 792 the court abolished the provincialg arrisons,o r gundan -M, that had
made up most of the militaryf orcesc reatedb y the ritsuryoc odes.3 Although
the order did not include the provinceso f Mutsu, Dewa, Sado, and those
undert he jurisdictiono f the Dazaifu t ,ft, thise ffectivelsyp elledt he end of
generalizedp easantc onscriptionin mosto f thec ountryT. extbooksa nd survey
historieso f thep eriodt endt o characterizet hisa ctiona s indicatingt hec ollapse
of the ritsuryoso ldierya nd the abandonmento f thei deal of a public military.
What this view fails to recognize,h owever,i s that the government'se dict in
792 was just one step in a continuings eries of reformsa nd modifications
directedt oward a rationalizationo f the state's armed forces.4
The court did not abandon eithert he ritsuryom ilitaryin stitutionos r the
ideal of the conscriptedc itizens oldieri n 792. Ritsuryom ilitaryo rganizations
operatedi n then orthernan d southernf rontierre gionsu ntilt hel ate ninthc en-
tury,a nd theg overnmencto ntinuedt o raiset roopsb y conscriptiona,l beitn ow
of a selectg roup of its citizenryr athert hant he populationa t large,t hrougha t
least the mid-tenthce ntury.5
From thei nceptiono f ther itsuryom) ilitarysy stemi,t is possiblet o identifya
patterno f increasingr elianceo n the martials killso f the rurale lite( the district
2 See JeffrePy. Mass, WarriorG overnment 'State and Frontieri n Early Japan' (disserta-
in Medieval Japan, Yale U.P., 1974; and Cor- tion, Stanford University, forthcoming),
nelius J. Kiley, 'Estate and Propertyi n the Chapter 5, while Dana Robert Morris de-
Late Heian Period', in JohnW . Hall & Jeffrey scribesa n analagous processo f rationalization
P. Mass, ed., Medieval Japan: Essays in In- of the tax systemd uringt hiss ame period.
stitutionaHl istory,Y ale U.P., pp, 109-26, on Dana RobertM orris,' Peasant Economy in
the relationshipb etween the imperial court Early Japan, 650-950', unpublishedd isserta-
and the rights of provincial warriors over tion,U niversityof California,B erkeley,1 980,
land. pp. 133-205.
3 RS, pp. 587-88 (792.6.7, Daijokampu t&A 5 See, for example, si, 879.6.26; RSK, pp.
-m. 566-67 (894.8.9, Daijokampu); and NK,
4 Bruce Batten makes a similar point in 947.2.14.
156 MonumentaN ipponica, 43:2
officer[g unji Tap,]a nd upper-tierp easant classes) and lesseningu se of the or-
dinaryp easantryi n both the capital and thep rovinces.T his trendi s seen most
clearlyi n the evolutiono f the various military/guarodf ficesin the capital.6
The ritsuryoic odes establishedf ives uch organizations,c ollectivelyk nowna s
theG oefu EItPfto, r Five Guards: theE monfu h[Thj,f L efta nd RightE jifu 4i+
ff, and Lefta nd RightH yoefu Vrt . Troops fort heH yoiefuw ered rawnf rom
among the lower centrala nd provincialn obility;t he Ejifu and Emonfu were
staffedb y troops (called eji di) taken fromt he provincialb rigadesa nd serv-
ingi n rotationa t court.7I n termso f numbers,t hesep easantg uardsw ereb y far
the largestf orce,8b ut theyq uicklyc ame to be vieweda s unreliable.B eginning
in the early7 00s, the courtb egan to compensatef ort he inadequacyo f the eji
by shiftingso me of theirf unctionst o the Hyoefu and otherst o newlyc reated
units. By 811 the Goefu had been replaced by the Rokuefu -/\hrto, r Six
Guards, and the involvemento f ordinaryp easant conscriptsw as minimal.9
Peasant conscriptsp rovedt o be no betters oldiersi n thep rovinces.A n edict
issued by the Council of State (Daijokan toA) in 780 complained of the
enervatedc onditiono f theg arrisons.M ost, it noted,w eren ot event rained,b ut
simplyi ssued weapons and then used as privatel abor forcesb y provincial
governorsa nd militaryo fficersA. ccordinglyt, he numberso f troops assigned
to the garrisonsw ere reduced,a nd provincialo fficialsw ere directedt o focus
their conscriptione fforto n those among the upper tier of peasantryw ho
were well versedi n the skills of 'the horse and bow'.10 Prior to this, in 762,
the governmenth ad ordered the formationo f special units in Ise, Mino,
Echizen,a nd Omi-the provincesg uardingt hem ajor approachest o Heian-kyo
-to be composed of expert mounted archers drawn from the scions of
provinciala ristocratsa nd wealthyp easants. 1
Viewed againstt hisb ackground,i t is easy to recognizet he reformin 792 as
just one more step in a long-establishedd irection.S implys tated,t he gundan
weree liminatedin thei nteriorp rovincesi n favoro f a moree litem ilitaryd rawn
6 For details on thisp rocess, see Sasayama In 728 a new unitk nowna s the Chuefuv t1*}
Haruo 40L1t, Nihon Kodai Efu Seido no e was established.A secondu nit,t heJ utoet K
Kenkyu HEtNifiV IWEt, Tokyo Dai- iJrjfw, as createdi n 759 and thenr enamedt he
gaku Shuppankai, 1985; Naoki Kojiro [iKO Kon'efu drvVhfinf 765. In 807 the Chuiefu
*&M41,' Kodai Tenno no Shiteki Heiryoku' became the RightK on'efu, while the former
tt Ab tj, in Shirin -4, 45:3 (1962), Kon'efu was renamedt he LeftK on'efu.
pp. 1-32; and Ogura Akio +J'jff, 'Juto In 811 the remnantso f the two Ejifu were
Toneriryon i tsuite:S ono Setchikio Chushin mergedw itht heE monfut o formt he Lefta nd
ni shite' t JA D Zc VRL r MOt +L RightE monfu. The new systemw as collective-
L C, in ShokuN ihongKi enkyux H* tC*7)t, ly knowna s the Rokuefu.
244 (1986), pp. 1-8. SN, 728.8.1, 759.12.2 & 765.2.3; NK,
7 See RG, pp. 185-86 & 192-93. 807.4.22; RSK, p. 156 (807.4.22, Daijokampu);
8 Sasayama Haruo, Kodai Kokka to Guntai NG, 808.7.22 & 811.11.28.
-&NM* t-W -, ChuioK oronsha, 1975,p p. 67- 10 Quoted in SN, 780.3.16.
70. 1 SN, 762.2.6.
9 Sasayama, Kodai Kokka, pp. 93-95.
FRIDAY: Teeth and Claws 157
fromt he same segmento f the populationt hath ad been servinga s officerasn d
cavalrymenw ithint he garrisons:t he provincialg entry.'2T his idea is not new
to eitherJ apaneseo r Westerns cholarship,b ut its significanche as oftenb een
overlooked.F or thee dicto f 792 createda n institutionavla cuumi n them ilitary
system in all but the frontierp rovinces. The court had recognized the
weaknesseso f the earliers ystema nd moved to correctt hem. It had identified
its best source of militaryp ower, but had not yetd ecided upon an organiza-
tional frameworkw ithinw hicht o utilizet his group.'3 As a result,t herew as
moret hana centurya nd a halfo f gropinga nd experimentinogn thep arto f the
centralg overnmentV. arious ideas weret ried,m odifiedo r abandoned untilt he
courta chieveda workables ystemd uringt hem iddle9 00s. Therew eret wo pro-
blemst o be solved: by what means weret roops to be called up, and by what
sorto f officershipws eret heyt o be led? The developmento f the system,a s it
struggledw ithb oth problems,r eflectedth e emergenceo f thew arriorc lass and
the effortosf the courtt o keep pace witht his evolution.
12 Scions of the rural aristocracyw ere en- M, in Shoenshi no Kenkyiu a
couragedt o developm ilitarysk ills,b y bothd e Iwanami, 1953, 1966, 1, pp. 301-470.
facto and de jure court policies, from the But the numbers of kondei specifiedf or
dawn of ther itsuryoer a. A detailedd iscussion each province alone-30 to 60 in most pro-
of this point is made in Karl Friday, 'Hired vinces, and rangingt o a maximumo f 200 in
Swords:T he Rise of PrivateW arriorP ower in Omi and Hitachi-render this interpretation
Early Japan', dissertation,S tanfordU niver- unlikely. Several later sources call for pro-
sity,f orthcoming. vinces to raise armies of 1,000 or more men
For the role of the provinciale lite in the ri- (see sJ, 878.4.28, fore xample).
tsuryom ilitarysy stema, nd ther elationshipo f It is morep robablet hatt hek ondei network
the militarys ystemt o theirl ives and careers, establishedi n 792 was intendedt o performe x-
see Yoneda Yuisuke *WET, Kodai Kokka actly those duties with which the document
to Chiho Gozoku t R t JP t , chargesi t: to guard 'the weapons storehouses,
Kyoikusha, 1979, p. 97; Sasayama, Kodai bell storehouses, and government head-
Kokka; Morita Tei Afl%, 'Heian Zenki o quarters'o f the provinces.T his is in fact,t he
Chiushinn i shita Kizoku no ShitekiB uryoku view expressedi n most recents cholarship.
ni tsuite' t ttA-'Va)f A,A lirAt For recent opinions on the issue, see
ot<C, in Shigen iTrc,1 5 (1972), pp. 70-84; Yamanouchi Kunio [141 p, 'Kondeisei o
and Naoki, 'Kodai Tenno'. Meguru Shomondai' ' 1IJ$ <K- -,, in
13 One week afteri ts decree abolishingt he Nihon Kodaishi Ronso H*NNStttf fgf, Endo
gundan, the Daijokan followedw itha n edict Motoo Hakase Kanreki Kinenkai Nihon
establishinga nationwides ystemo f kondei a Kodaishi Ronso Kankokai, 1970, pp. 348-70;
X, or 'stalwarty outh',t o be selectedf romt he Hirano Tomohiko +ft , 'Kondeisei Sei-
-
'sons and youngerb rothers'o f the gunji. ritsun o Haikei to sono Yakuwari' HTIJM
RSK, pp. 558-59 (792.6.14, Daijokampu). en {?+e ij, in Saeki Arikiyo b
The close timingo f the two edicts and a ed., Nihon Kodaishi Rons6o
referencein the second order to the dissolu- Yoshikawa, 1980, pp. 271-316; Inoue Mitsuo
tion of the provincial garrisons have led -) LAiZ9, Heian Jidai no Gunji Seido no
scholars to conclude that kondei were in- Kenkyu+ ot Ij$oIJe, Yoshikawa,
tendeda s a replacementf ort he gundan in all 1980, pp. 29-54; and Nagai Hajime AiC*_,
mannero f militarya ffairs. 'Kondeisei ni tsuite no Saikento: Heianki
This view was pioneered by Nishioka Kondeiseio Chuishint oshite' X o t
Toranosuke NF&1fT%Min his 'Bushi Kaikyiu e pt-4:+ IJM rtIJ& , L' L-Z, in Shigaku
Kessei no Ichi Yoin to shite no "Maki" no Kenkyu7S hu7roku , 8 (1983), pp.
Hatten' A;+o?:PLgf t M,bZ FN E_t IX Ca ) rWj a 59 30-39.
158 MonumentaN ipponica, 43:2
Some authorsh ave arguedf ort he existence,b oth beforea nd after7 92, of a
distinctm ilitaryc onscriptionm echanismc enteredo n the gunji.1 4 Termedt he
jimpei hR or koku heishi ? systemt, hism echanismi s said to have existed
nationwide,i n parallel to the gundan systemb eforet he latterw as abolished.
This,t hea rgumentc ontinues,w as becauset hep rovinciagl arrisonsh ad been in-
tended solely to cope with foreigne nemies;p olice functionsw ere lefti n the
hands of the districta nd provincialo fficialsT. hus the districto fficialsu, nder
the authorityo f the provincialg overnor,m aintainedt heiro wn means of rais-
ing fightinmg en when needed to apprehendc riminals,a means distinctf rom
the normalg undan conscriptionm echanism.W hen, thereforet, he garrisons
were abolished, thisj impei systemw as simplyr etaineda s the only military/
police system( outside of the frontierp rovinces). Hirano Tomohiko and
Morita Tei, two of the proponents of this theory,b oth characterizet he
militaryo f then inthc enturya s a systemb ased on ther ecruitmentta lentso f the
districto fficialasn d the conscriptiona uthorityo f the provincialg overnor.T he
basic unit of the system,t heym aintain,w as the district(g un T9); troopsw ere
called to serviceo n the basis of theiri rregularc orvee (zoyo *J1{&o)b ligations.
A thorought reatmento f this theoryl ies beyond the scope of the present
article. But it does appear that troop mobilizationa nd conscriptiond uring
then inthc enturyw erec onductedl argelya s Hirano and Moritah ave described.
A feww ords of caution, however,a re in order.
It is evidentt hatp rovincialg overnorsw eree ntrustedw ithi mportantr espon-
sibilitiest owardp olice and militarya ffairsb etweent he nintha nd twelfthc en-
turies,a s is seen below. Districto fficialsm, oreover,h ad servedt he state as
militaryo fficerdsu ringt hes eventha nd eighthc enturiesw, erea t theg rass-roots
end of the government'csh ain of command,a nd werea t thet op of the hierar-
chyo f the rurale lite,t he class upon whicht he post-792m ilitaryw as centered.
Althoughn inth-centursyo urcesp roviden o clear descriptionso f the conscrip-
tion/mobilizationp rocess below the provinciall evel, it is not difficultto sup-
pose thatt heg unji played a major role. In addition,t heu se of 'nimpu' Ah, a
generalt ermf ort hose eligiblef or corvee service,i n some troop mobilization
orderss tronglys uggestst hat fightinmg en werec alled up on the basis of their
corvee obligations.15
But it is importantt o note that the termj impei, fromw hich Hirano and
Morita have named theirs ystem,i s by no means the only one used by the
sourcest o indicates oldiersd uringt hisp eriod; nor does it even appear in most
cases. The terms kampei W gunshi T+, and heishi, as well as nimpu,
14 For exampleso f thist heory,s ee Hirano, Kadai to Hoko F 9 c) ASW - )t , San'itsu,
'Kondeisei Seiritsu'; Morita Tei, Ocho Seiji 1978, pp. 19-42; and Hashimoto Yui ;
E X A S,, Kyoikusha, 1979, pp. 139-42; 'RitsuryoG undansei to Kihei' 1Ij
Muraoka Kaoru t4fIl, 'Enryaku Juiichi-nen -, in Shoku NihongiK enkyu,2 17 (1981), pp.
Shokoku Gundan Heishisei Teihai no Ikko- 29-38.
satsu' KenkyIIkTa El,e dL., Mnash n, 15 See sJ, 862.5.20, fore xample.
in MinshuishKi enkyuikaie, d., Minshiushin o
FRIDAY: Teeth and Claws 159
are also used in what appears to be preciselyt he same context. Jimpei,
moreover,d oes not seemt o possess an exclusivem eaning.T he terma ppearsi n
theY oro At ritsuryoc odes, wherei t is defineda s 'nimpuo r heishi'.16 Further-
more, Hirano and Morita have inferredt he existence of a conscription
mechanismb ased on the gun froma single chroniclee ntry,d ated 883, that
speaks of a disturbancein Kazusa and the mobilizationo f a thousand 'jimpei
of thev ariousg un' to deal withi t.1 7 No others ource connectsji mpei witht he
gun in thism anner.I n all otheri nstances,t he sourcess tatet hats uch and such
a provinceh as mobilized,o r been directedt o mobilize,t roops in responset o
such and such a problem. All of which calls into question the idea that the
'jimpei systemr' epresentedan y sorto f formalizedm echanisma t all. It is more
likelyt hat troop mobilizationa nd conscriptiond uringt he ninthc enturyw as
conductedo n an essentiallya d hoc basis. Responsibilityf orm usteringf ighting
men when necessaryr estedw ith provincialg overnors;t he specificm eans by
whicht his was to be accomplishedv aried fromc ase to case.
Over time, the recruitmentm echanismu nderwentc onsiderable change,
graduallyc oming to be conducted increasinglyo n the basis of completely
privatem artialt ies. The term 'jimpei' continuedt o appear in mobilization
ordersa t least as late as the 940s, indicatingt he continuationo f recruitment
based on purelyp ublic authority1.8 But the hearto f thef ightinsgt rengthof the
'Court Army'd uringt he Masakado tir Rebellion,9 35-940,w as composedo f
privatef orces.'9T he changeoverw as not abrupt,n or was it everc omplete.T he
ideal of public militarys ervicer emaineda live throughoutt he Heian period.
The increasingt endencyf or 'governmentt' roopst o be recruiteda nd mobi-
lized throughp rivatec hains of commandw as a resulto f theg rowtho f private
martialn etworksa mongt he provinciale lite.T his growth,i n turn,b oth fueled
and derived from the state's creation of various new military/policpe osts
throughw hicht o harnesst he bushi :A leadership.
16 RG, p. 304; Shimomukai Tatsuhiko, 1985.
'Ocho Kokka Gunsei Kenkyu no Kihon On warrioro rganizationd uringt hisp eriod,
Shikaku: "Tsuibu Kampu" o Chuishinn i' aE see Takahashi Masaaki - , 'Masakado
no Ran no Hyoka o Megutte'i r iLG +fh Az
in Sakamoto Shozo W*; W, ed., Ocho Kok- ? <-, C, in Bunka Shigaku k 26
ka Seishi no Kenkyiu +#J'z fr, (1971), pp. 25-44; Yoshida Akira -I3Uf,
Yoshikawa, 1987, pp. 309-10. 'Masakado no Ran ni Kansuru 2-3 no Mon-
17 si, 883.2.9.
18 HS, 941.9.19; NK, 947.2.14. Kenkyu H 1sRf, 50 (1960), pp. 6-26;
19 For an overview of the literatureo n Haruda Takayoshi W0I3F1 , 'Masakado no
Masakado, see Saeki Arikiyot SMhr et al., Ran ni Okeru Buryoku Soshiki: Toku ni
ed., Masakado no Ran iqmoL, Yoshikawa, Banrui ni tsuite' QL Q ft : t
1976. For English-language accounts, see < 4 .i -iX , in Shigen, 2:3 (1967), pp.
Giuliana Stramigioli,' PreliminaryN otes on 44-5 1; and Fukuda Toyohiko MF f i , 'Ocho
the Masakadoki and the Taira no Masakado Gunji Kiko to Nairan' E F' L, in
Story', in MN 28:3 (1973), pp. 261-93, and Iwanami Koza Nihon Rekishi A-* H4 M
JudithN . Rabinovitch,S homonki: The Story T, 4 (1976), pp. 81-120.
of Masakado's Rebellion,M N monograph5 8,
160 MonumentaN ipponica, 43:2
ProvinciaKl ebiishi
The post of provincialk ebiishii s somethingo f a phantomi n Japan's military
historicalo pera. For while it continuedf ora long timea s a cast member,i ts
appearance on an only dimlyl it historicalc enters tage was decidedlyb rief.
Neithert he beginningn or the end of this appearance is made clear by any
source.20
Therea re two phases to thes toryo f thep rovincialk ebiishi,r epresentintgw o
differenpte riods of time and two differentty peso f officersD. uring the first,
kebiishiw ere provincialo fficeros f the centralg overnmentl,i ke oryoshia nd
tsuibushii n thet entht o twelfthc enturiesD. uringt hes econd,w hichc ontinued
well into the Kamakura era, the post was completelya bsorbed by the provin-
cial governmentb, ecominga department(t okoro Pfi)s taffedb y zaicho kanjin
' 21
tET
It is not possible to pinpointw hent hist ransitiont ook place, but it appears
to have begund uringt hem iddleo f thet enthc enturyT. he outwardf ormo f the
earliero fficeis plainlyv isiblei n sourcesa s late as 946, whilea truek ebiidokoro
kdWxefc an be seen by 1106.22T he period betweeni s murky.T he firsta p-
pearanceo f thet ermk ebiidokoroi n theh istoricalr ecordw as in 965.23 Yet it is
questionablew hethert hisr eferst o a truez aicho kanjin-staffetdo koro,a s the
officemr entionedw as clearlya ppointedb y the Council of State. This example
probablyr epresentasn intermediarsyt agei n them etamorphosios f thep rovin-
cial kebiiship ost. It does, in any case, show that by 965 the agencyt hrough
whicht he kebiishio peratedw as alreadyb eingc alled the kebiidokoroi n some
instances.W hat appears to have occurredw as a gradual transmutationof the
provincialk ebiishif roma centralo fficershitpo a zaicho post.24 This leads one
to inquirea s to whys uch a transformatiosnh ould have taken place.
20 Provincial kebiishi should not be con- regularo r surrogater egularo fficialisn the on-
fused witht he centralK ebiishi-cho,o r Office site officeso f the provincialg overnmenta,n d
of the ImperialP olice. The lattere mergeda s a who legally( local politicala nd social realities
subordinateo f the Emonfu duringt he early notwithstandingh) eld their positions at the
ninthc enturyb, ecominga n independento ffice sufferancoe f the provincialg overnor,r ather
by 834. Its jurisdictions eems to have been than the centralc ourt.
limitedt o Heian-kyo and its immediates ur- For ther elationshipb etweent hez aicho kan-
roundings. jin and the provincial government, see
For the Kebiishi-cho,s ee Inoue, pp. 104- Morita Tei, Zuryo #fl, Kyoikusha,1 978, pp.
131; UwayokoteM asataka L%#RY, 'Heian 193-207. For the relationshipb etweent hese
Chuikin o Keisatsu Jotai' T' e 4)t two bodies and the provincial kebiishi, see
in Takeuchi Rizo Hakase Kanreki Kinenkai, Watanabe, pp. 343-57, and Oae Akira -
ed., RitsuryoK okka to Kizoku Shakai iM RitsuryoS eika no Shiho to Keisatsu: Kebiishi
* L " ,Yoshikawa, 1969, pp. 511-40; Seido o Chushint o shiteM '-Ij -?P - ffi :
and Watanabe Naohiko 'A 06M, 'Kebiishin o 4 - ft $I i -? t , t l C, Daigaku
Kenkya' t )Y Arf, in Nihon Kodai Kan'i Kyoikusha, 1979, pp. 275-77.
Seido no KisotekiK enkyiuH * tN-t1 QIi)- 22 BF, pp. 23-24 (946.3.13, Daijokampu);
-XiMn, Yoshikawa, 1972, pp. 295-384. HI, document1 999.
21 Definitionso f the term zaicho kanjin 23 SG, 2, p. 240 (966.10.3); Watanabe, p.
vary widely. In the presents tudy, I use the 357.
term to refer to local men who served as 24 Oae, pp. 276-77.
FRIDAY: Teeth and Claws 161
Provincialk ebiishiw eref irstu nveiledi n 855, whena courth istoryr eported
the appointmento f one Ise no Ason MorotsuguW M Lt in Yamato.25T he
entryis shorta nd somewhatc rypticb, ut itsl anguagei ndicatest hati t was prob-
ably not the firsta ppointmento f this sort. If such is the case, it would place
theo rigino f thep rovincialk ebiiship ost in close temporalp roximityto thea p-
pearanceo f the kebiishi-chot Fft-i in thec apital. (The lattere mergeda s an
independento fficed uringt he 820s or 830s.)26T his fact has led Oae Akira to
posit a connectionb etweent hec entrala nd provincialv ersionso f thet itle.T he
kebiishii n the capital, he argues,w ere chargedw ithk eepingt he peace in the
city,b ut weren ot allowed to ventureo utsidei ts gates withouts pecial permis-
sion. Felons, however,o ftenf ledo r assembledj ust outsidet hesej urisdictional
limits.P eace-keepingi nside of Heian-kyot hereforem andateds ome formo f
police officero peratingi n the rest of the capital region as well. Provincial
kebiishiw eret husc onceivedo f as an expansiono f thec entralo fficet; heyw ere
createdi n ordert o reinforcet he activitieso f the latter.27
Whilet hisa rgumentis attractivei,t musts tando r fallm ainlyo n theb asis of
its own internall ogic. Therea re no sourcest hata ttestt o, or even hinta t, such
a beginningf ort hep rovincialk ebiiship ost. Therei s, moreover,n o evidencet o
indicatet he sort of chain-of-commandr elationshipb etweent he centrala nd
provincialk ebiishit hat one would expectt o have held if Oae's explanationi s
correct.P rovincial kebiishia ppear to have operated as independente ntities
withint heiro wn jurisdiction.
In any event,p rovincialk ebiishia ppointmentsd o not appear to have been
made in accord with an integrateda priori plan. Rather, new posts were
createdi n sporadic, piecemeal fashioni n various provincesb etweent he 850s
(or earlier)a nd the late 870s.28T he numbero f officerps osted was not always
the same. While in mostk nownc ases a singlek ebiishiw as designated,K azusa
was assigned two and Musashi one per gun.29A pparentlyk ebiishiw ere ap-
pointedb y the Council of State on an as-neededb asis, in responset o requests
by provincialg overnors.30
The usual reason citedi n requestsf orn ew appointmentws as troublec aused
by bands of bandits withint he province.T he maraudingso f such bands in
thee ast and of piratesi n thew est,o ftenl ed by memberso f thep rovinciale lite,
became a major problem from the early 800s and had become virtually
endemicb y the end of that century.3'D ealing with these outlaws, it would
25 NM, 855.3.26. 26 Inoue, p. 106. 29 SJ, 867.12.4 & 861.11.16.
27 Oae, pp. 270-71. 30 SJ, 876.7.8 & 878.2.13; BF, pp. 22-23
28 See, for example, sJ, 861.11.16; NM, (949.1.21, Omi kokushig e -ikITW]V).
855.3.26; and sJ, 877.12.21. Several au- 31 On the problem of bandit and pirate
thoritiesh ave reached similar conclusions: bands, see Toda Yoshimi - , 'Chuisei
Watanabe, p. 340; Oae, pp. 271-73; and Seiritsukni o Kokka to Nomin' ftb v? ) M
Kuroda Koichiro MWk Pr),' JinguK ebiishi X , in NihonshiK enkyu,9 7 (1968), pp.
no Kenkyui' , in Nihonshi 18-33; Hayashi RokurVo6 PJ, Kodai Makki
Kenkyiu,1 07 (1969), p. 6. no Hanran -X ASFML, Kyoikusha,1 977.